Uchenna Efobi and Emmanuel Orkoh
Using quasi-experimental designs, the purpose of this paper is to study the effects of training entrepreneurs and such entrepreneurs going ahead to retrain its workers on the…
Abstract
Purpose
Using quasi-experimental designs, the purpose of this paper is to study the effects of training entrepreneurs and such entrepreneurs going ahead to retrain its workers on the business high-growth performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used a unique evaluation data from the National Business Plan Competition in Nigeria, organized by the Nigerian government in collaboration with the World Bank. The data was analyzed using the Propensity Score Matching technique and complemented with the Difference-in-Difference estimates.
Findings
The authors find from the estimation of this paper that those entrepreneurs who received standard evaluation training and goes ahead to retrain its workers experienced an expansion in the number of employees by two persons, an increase in innovation index by about 3 units. An increase in revenue is also observed, but this increase was not significant at the 1, 5 or 10 per cent levels.
Originality/value
This paper presents an interesting view point on how training within an entrepreneurial venture should be viewed as a ‘two sided coin’. This is such that training the entrepreneur is one side of the story, and the entrepreneur retraining its workers is another important side of the story.
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Simplice A. Asongu, Uchenna Efobi and Vanessa S. Tchamyou
This study aims to assess the effect of globalisation on governance in 51 African countries for the period 1996-2011.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the effect of globalisation on governance in 51 African countries for the period 1996-2011.
Design/methodology/approach
Ten bundled and unbundled governance indicators and four globalisation variables are used. The empirical evidence is based on Generalised Method of Moments.
Findings
Firstly, on political governance, while only social globalisation improves political stability, only economic globalisation does not increase voice and accountability and political governance. Secondly, with regard to economic governance: only economic globalisation significantly promotes regulation quality; social globalisation and general globalisation significantly advance government effectiveness; and economic globalisation and general globalisation significantly promote economic governance. Thirdly, with respect to institutional governance, while only social globalisation improves corruption-control, the effects of globalisation dynamics on the rule of law and institutional governance are not significant. Fourthly, the impacts of social globalisation and general globalisation are positive on general governance.
Practical implications
It follows that political governance is driven by voice and accountability compared to political stability; economic governance is promoted by both regulation quality and government effectiveness from specific globalisation angles; and globalisation does not improve institutional governance for the most part.
Originality/value
Governance variables are bundled and unbundled to reflect evolving conceptions and definitions of governance. Theoretical contributions and policy implications are discussed.
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This study aims at establishing a linkage between IFRS adoption and environmental pollution in Africa. More so, the role of institution was emphasized as a possible ameliorator of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at establishing a linkage between IFRS adoption and environmental pollution in Africa. More so, the role of institution was emphasized as a possible ameliorator of environmental pollution in the face of IFRS adoption.
Methodology/approach
The empirical model builds on the traditional EKC hypothesis, by including IFRS adoption variable and an interaction term (which captures the multiplicative between IFRS adoption and institutions). Data was gathered for 47 African countries for the period 2001–2013. The SGMM technique was used in the estimation process.
Findings
The robust estimation reveals that a positive and significant linkage exist between IFRS adoption and environmental pollution. The interactive variable also shows that the effect of IFRS on the environment will reduce when institutions quality (in the form of bureaucratic corruption) is addressed.
Originality
The linkage between IFRS and the environment has not received empirical attention. This is partly due to the fact that accounting phenomenon is rarely linked to macroeconomic outcomes. However, there is a rising interest in the role of accounting institutions on economic outcomes and this study contributes sufficiently to this budding body of knowledge.
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Uchenna Efobi, Belmondo Tanankem Voufo, Ibukun Beecroft and Peace Okougbo
This chapter intends to examine the relationship between government incentives and the mode of firms’ finance of their operation in Nigeria. Specifically, it does relate the…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter intends to examine the relationship between government incentives and the mode of firms’ finance of their operation in Nigeria. Specifically, it does relate the solvency of the firm with the quality of their financing decisions and observed if government incentives such as creation of export processing zones and industrial parks will affect the firm’s decision of depending on external versus internal financing.
Methodology/approach
The results presented in this chapter are based on analysis of a firm-level data taken from the 2014 firm-level survey of the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey project for Nigeria. Different estimation techniques are applied for robustness and sensitivity. They include both the parametric and non-parametric regression approach.
Findings
The robust estimations show that firms that benefit from the government incentives tend to use more of internal funding to finance their operation unlike firms that are non-beneficiaries. In addition smaller firms are going to benefit more from the incentives than older firms, and less profitable firms are also going to use more of internal financing if they benefit from government incentives.
Practical implications
This chapter will be helpful for both research and teaching for undergraduate and post-graduate students. Importantly, its analysis and result will be useful for policy makers and their allies.
Originality/value
This chapter discusses solvency issues by considering the financing decision of firms, which is an important aspect in the going concern of firms.
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Akintoye Victor Adejumo, Oluwabunmi O. Adejumo and Uchenna R. Efobi
Informal associations are typical features of farm and non-farm ventures especially within rural communities. Owing to the informality of these associations, members of the groups…
Abstract
Informal associations are typical features of farm and non-farm ventures especially within rural communities. Owing to the informality of these associations, members of the groups usually evolve strategies to cope with different kinds of economic and social shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic or unexpected economic recessions. Accordingly, entrepreneurship and non-farm business development in rural areas require massive finance input, which this group largely lacks owing to agrarian activities which is the main source of revenue. Therefore, to inform rural development policies, this chapter draws on the interrelationships that exist between finance options (including formal, informal and social networks) and small business development. Using the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Survey – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA), the analytics identifies informal financing and social networks as leading alternatives to formal financing option in rural businesses. Therefore, we suggest that the government institutions recognise and formalise informal finance systems. This will not only aid access to government interventions and programmes, but foster collaborations with existing formal institutions and investors for sustainable rural business financing.
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Evans Osabuohien, Uchenna R. Efobi and Ciliaka M. Gitau
The purpose of this paper is to examine the linkage between environmental challenges, multinational corporations (MNCs) activities, trade and energy in Africa; and further…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the linkage between environmental challenges, multinational corporations (MNCs) activities, trade and energy in Africa; and further elaborate on the role of institutions, as an intervening variable.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors extended the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model by including indicators of the presence of MNCs, trade and energy in the basic EKC model that has measures of environmental pollution (CO2), economic growth (gross domestic product per capita) and its squared value. The role of institutions was also considered and included as an inter-mediating variable. This model was tested on a sample of 27 African countries, for the period 1996-2010. The systems GMM was applied for the empirical analysis. This approach was aimed at circumventing the possibility of reverse causality and endogenous explanatory variables-such as institutions.
Findings
Trade and MNCs’ activities may not have much contemporaneous impact on the environment. However, their lagged values have adverse and significant influence on the current values of environmental challenge. This implies that environmental policies regarding trade and MNCs require time response lag. Energy was significant only at contemporaneous value but not at its lagged value. Institutional development helps to suppress the negative excesses (like pollution) from the activities of trade, MNCs and energy, and consequently reduce environmental pollution.
Originality/value
This paper included the role of institutions in the environmental pollution, trade, MNCs and energy debate. Empirical studies in this regard have inadvertently excluded this variable, but have, at best, included it as part of policy recommendations.
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Evans S. Osabuohien, Uchenna R. Efobi and Ciliaka M.W. Gitau
Purpose – This study provides insight on how Sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries can ameliorate the impact of environmental pollution in the face of increasing inflow of…
Abstract
Purpose – This study provides insight on how Sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries can ameliorate the impact of environmental pollution in the face of increasing inflow of multinational corporations (MNCs).Design/methodology/approach – An analytical model describing the role of institutions in reducing the environmental impact of MNCs was formulated and analysed for a sample of 43 SSA countries (1996–2010) using descriptive and the System Generalised Method of Moments techniques.Findings – It was found that the ‘tragedy’ of environmental pollution can be ‘managed’ if there are strong institutional framework especially regulatory quality and government effectiveness that will drive environmental policies and make MNCs to comply to the tenets of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in host countries. The study also established that the environmental hazards in the previous year will occur in the current year, but with strong institutions in place, it will be at a decreasing rate. How increase in trade, inflow of MNCs and population growth affect the current extent of environmental pollution was underscored.Research limitation – Aggregated data on the variables were utilised, and thus the results were dependent on the reliability of the data. Examining how MNCs respond to CSR with respect to environmental issues in SSA can be taken up in future studies using micro-data. This will complement this study and further establish the impact of MNCs activities on the environment in SSA.Originality/value of chapter – The relevance of institutions in regulating the behaviours of MNCs with regards to environmental pollution in SSA was emphasised.
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Evans Osabuohien, Gbadebo Odularu, Daniel Ufua and Romanus Osabohien